Australia stock market finished session lower on Friday, 24 March 2023, on jittery over the U.S. and European financial systems following turmoil in the banking sector.At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined 13.38 points, or 0.19%, to 6,955.24. The broader All Ordinaries index decreased 11.01 points, or 0.15%, to 7,137.60.
The top performing stocks in the S&P/ASX 200 Index were BRAINCHILD HOLDINGS and AGL ENERGY, up 6.1% and 5.97% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were BLOCK INC and BRICKWORKS, down 18.40% and 4.59% respectively.
Total 6 of 11 sectors were lower along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Financial was bottom performing sector, falling 1.15%, followed by energy (down 0.34%), industrials (down 0.2%), and information technology (down 0.18%) sectors. Utilities was the best performing sector, gaining 0.73%, followed by materials (up 0.56%) sector.
Banks and financials closed lower. Commonwealth Bank dropped 1.2% and Westpac slipped 0.6%. ANZ has slid 1.1% while NAB's share price finished 1.6% lower.
Medibank's share price sunk 0.9% after Australia's largest private health insurer announced its technology and operations chief, John Goodall, would retire and depart within weeks.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Manufacturing Sector PMI Falls To 48.7 In March--The manufacturing sector in Australia slipped into contraction territory in March, the preliminary survey from Judo Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.7. That's down from 50.5 in February, and it slips beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. anufacturing output shrank for a fourth straight month on the back of falling new orders. The rate at which new orders contracted was the fastest since August 2021. Anecdotal evidence suggested that higher interest rates and inflationary pressures affected client interest at the end of the first quarter. The survey also showed that the composite PMI fell from 50.7 to 48.2 and the composite index sank from 50.6 to 48.1. New business at Australian service providers deteriorated at the fastest pace since September 2021 as high costs and slowing market conditions weighed on demand. International demand expanded for a third straight month, however.
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